Seniors, You're Almost There

Things are starting to wind down for the year. Here are a few things coming up...

Tomorrow is the last of the three Transition Assemblies! Anne Kjeldgaard (Class of 2009) and Katie Heffernan (Class of 2010) will be here to talk about their freshman and sophomore year at Georgetown University. They attended their own Transition Assembly as seniors, so they remember being in your shoes and can answer questions about the upcoming changes.

The May 1st deadline to commit to a college is fast approaching! Remember you can only deposit at one college. If you are on a waitlist, you still need to deposit somewhere by May 1st. Once you have decided, make sure to let your college counselor know - we are excited to hear your decision! College Board has some suggestions for things to think about for your next steps once you have made that final choice.

Finally, your APs begin on May 2nd - so we want to wish you good luck as you prepare for these exams. You are in the final stretch - only 18 more days of classes until your Final Exam week! The only thing that remains is selecting your graduation shoes!

Cleaning Out My Inbox

As Admissions Offices assess how things went for the 2010-2011 application process, they have been updating us about their year. Here are some highlights...

Connecticut College had a 33.2% acceptance rate this year - 26% of applicants did not submit test scores with their applications (this is a test optional school). They will open a brand new science center on campus in the Fall of 2012.

Hamilton College sent us information that did not provide statistics, but was sure to inform us that this was the most selective year on record.

Looking for scholarship money? Auburn University sent a mailing about their numerous freshman scholarships. There are various levels of scholarship money available (including full tuition for four years), beginning with a minimum GPA of 3.25 and SAT's of a 1250 (critical reading + math) SAT.

Colgate University accepted 28.9% of their applicants this year. The average SAT I scores are 695 Critical Reading, 704 Math (1399 out of 1600). Average ACT composite is 32. Admitted students included 57% women and 43% men.

Rice University reported that their applications were up 12% and their acceptance rate was just 19%.

Georgetown University accepted 18% of their applicants this year.

DePaul University will not require standardized test scores next year. This new test optional policy puts emphasis on GPA and strength of program.

Filed by TSM

How Do You Turn Down A College?

It's a delicate dance isn't it? Many seniors have been coming up this week to ask us about the polite way to tell a college that has accepted them, "thanks, but no thanks." Unlike when you are accepted to a college Early Decision in the fall and you have other active applications in at other schools, and you must withdraw immediately for fear of being viewed as a two timing violator of the ED Agreement, you don't actually have to do anything right now. Colleges are aware that many students receive multiple acceptances and they will assume you will not be attending their school if they do not receive your deposit by May 1. If a college has given you a quick and easy way to let them know you will not be attending (a postcard, a web link, etc.) it's a nice gesture to go ahead and let them know when you've decided to go elsewhere. Otherwise, you really don't need to worry about it. In the old days when students applied to only a few colleges and there weren't 67,000 pieces of paper and 21,000 emails clogging up the admissions offices' mail rooms and inboxes, we would suggest you write a nice note. These days, your nice letter is unlikely to be read and processed before Labor Day. So, while it may feel strange not to break up with a college in a timely fashion, they will move on without you come May 2.

It's A Big Week!

Can you feel the excitement in the air? There are three big events for juniors this week.

• The Independent Schools College Fair on Wednesday night. You should have received a list of the colleges that will be represented at the fair in your college counseling group. We've also mailed one home just in case. This fair should help you to expand your list of colleges and get more information about the schools that are already on your list.


• Career Day! Your Career Day Ambassadors and the Counseling Department and the Alumnae Office have been working hard to put together a fabulous day for you. You will hear from over 30 Visitation alumnae in the morning, and college admissions officers in the afternoon. AND breakfast and lunch are on us!


• Ring Ceremony. This a lovely event. It's all about class unity and...moving on to senior year. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you will eat cake and take pictures. Congratulations on reaching this milestone!

Published by TSM

UNC Wilmington - great location, great programs!

Our last stop in North Carolina was UNC-Wilmington. While we were hoping for the warm beach weather that Wilmington is known for, it was unfortunately an unseasonably cool day. Despite the cooler weather, you could still see sand on campus, students biking to and from classes, and shorts and flip flops as far as the eye could see. There was that low-key vibe that goes along with a beach town and the relaxing pace was a lovely break from the frenetic pace of DC. Here are some highlights... The Watson School of Education is housed in a unique building with state of the art technology. When you walk in, a Maya Angelou quote is predominantly displayed: "Nothing will work unless you do." A few cool features - The Media Production Lab, distance learning classroom that connects UNCW with others around the world, and assistive technology classroom with technologies for teaching students with disabilities. This is one of the most impressive Education buildings we have ever seen on a college campus. The Cameron School of Business has a Financial Trading Markets Room that allows students to follow the NY Stock Exhange. Another unique feature is the Cameron Executive Network (CEN) which matches motivated undergraduates with retired and active senior executives. Mentors come from a variety of professional backgrounds, including firms such as AT&T, Screen Gems Studios and Lockheed Martin. CEN mentors work one-on-one with students to help them develop a stronger understanding of the business world and polish their professional networking and interviewing skills. The mentoring program is very successful because many CEO's own property and/or retire in communities near the Wilmington beaches. Who knew?Since Wilmington is the third-largest film production center in the U.S., which is home to EUE/Screen Gems Studios, the largest film studio outside of Hollywood, the Film Studies Department offers a lot of great opportunities to budding filmmakers. You may have seen the campus in WB favorites - Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill since both shows filmed on campus. Some students we ate lunch with told us that "The Rock" had been on campus recently filming an upcoming movie - and students are often asked to be extras in movies! This is an extraordinary place to study film. As we listened to the Chair of the Creative Writing Department describe the curriculum, Mrs. Maglio began filling out her application to their graduate program. The inspirational description about having the opportunity to "make something out of nothing" had us all ready to sign up! Before you panic - she's not going anywhere. Whenever we visit colleges, it seems like a really good idea to go back to school. Do you know how lucky you are to have the college experience AHEAD of you?!

UNC Wilmington is also known for it's strong program in Marine Sciences. If I had known I could "study" by traveling to the Galapogus Islands - I would have checked out these majors too! Majors include marine biotechnology, biodiversity, oceanography, coral reef ecology, fisheries biology, coastal ecology, and marine mammals.

We hope our highlights of our whirlwind tour of three UNC schools will encourage some of you to look at these schools. All three could be a great fit for the right Visi girl.

Published by KMH and TSM

The Best Kept Secret in NC - UNC Greensboro!

The next stop on our "First Flight" Tour in North Carolina was UNC-Greensboro. The Admissions staff, professors, and students gave us an incredibly warm welcome and were the epitome of southern hospitality. Here are some highlights...

• Our first night on campus, we were treated to a performance by a Percussion Ensemble from the Music Department. UNCG has a wonderful performing arts program - including majors in Dance, Drama, Design and Theater Technology, Technical Production, and Theater Education.


• We learned that Greensboro is the third largest city in North Carolina - and is part of the Triad area which includes Winston-Salem and High Point. The area has ten other four-year colleges and universities in the immediate area!


• UNCG offers an unique major through their Arts & Sciences Program - Interior Architecture. This is kind of a hybrid between Interior Design and Architecture. Students work to plan and design space and furniture. The student design space was filled with creative projects and works in progress - and the wood working studio allows students to bring their brainstorming and drawings to life. If you have ever dreamed of being one of the people who designs the rooms in the Pottery Barn catalogue, this could be the major for you!


• Two students who are members of the Lloyd International Honors College talked about the opportunities to travel as one of the most exciting bonuses of this impressive program. One student had just returned from a study abroad experience in Asia and was preparing for a trip to Japan next semester.


• Undergraduate enrollment here is about 18,000 students on campus - with about 27% minority enrollment. And the student population definitely seemed diverse as we were walking around campus. Students also seemed laid back - UNCG sweats appeared to be the outfit of choice on this cool, rainy day. The gorgeous Student Union houses the University Bookstore - where Mrs. Maglio and Ms. Hosmer procured their own UNCG sweatshirts. There's also a Starbucks, where we purchased lattes.


• We had lunch with current students - and they described campus as a place where students are involved in a variety of activities and clubs. Learning Living Communities were described as making a school that is relatively large feel like a much smaller school. There is a sense of Spartan Pride as students described the strong sense of community.

• We asked a few of the girls about the male/female student ratio on campus (34% male/66% female) - but the young women said they don't really notice the descrepancy - and they assured us that their social lives were going strong!

We really enjoyed our time in Greensboro and for students looking for a mid- size college, a gorgeous campus, strong academics combined with a laid back culture and great weather, this could be your school! Best of all, we could really feel a strong sense of community between students and faculty.

Published by KMH and TSM

We're in the South Y'all!

Well, we are at it again – Mrs. Maglio and Ms. Hosmer are out visiting schools in North Carolina. We are traveling with 15 other counselors from all over the country. Initially, only one of us was offered a space on the tour – but fortunately a space opened up on the waitlist – and so we hit the road! Our first stop was NC State and here are some highlights…

-After arriving on NC State’s campus, we were welcomed into the shiny new Visitor Center and treated to NC State Creamery’s Howling Cow Ice Cream – yum!

-Then we took a tour of the Arboretum. A beautiful 75 degree day - gorgeous!

-The College of Design - where you can study art and design, graphic design, architecture, industrial design or landscape architecture- included a project that looked just like the set of Project Runway. -The space age Library had a ton of high tech gadgets – including the Tech Toolbox that housed a huge screen that worked like a giant ipad. We wish the Library would have been this much fun when we were in college. -The Parks Scholars program offers full scholarships to high achieving students – impressive program! -There are 6000 undergraduates in the School of Engineering. If you are wondering where the boys are – 80% are men. There are the usual engineering majors – but also many unique programs including biomanufacturing science, game development, paper science and engineering and the Ben Franklin Scholars Program that combines the humanities with engineering studies. -If you want big time sports – look no further. We had a behind the scenes tour of the Wolf Pack’s gorgeous football stadium and the sports medicine facilities – including an underwater treadmill. Mrs. Maglio even hung out with thier mascot. If you are considering UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State is another one to add to your list – especially if you are interested in engineering or design. Great school…great location…and they would love more out of state students! If you're not convinced yet, here's one more interesting fact - the average annual snowfall in Raleigh is 2.4 inches.

Published by KMH and TSM